1. Field
The following description relates to an indoor unit of an air conditioner having an improved structure of air discharge, and a method of controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an air conditioner is a device which regulates temperature, humidity, flow, distribution, and the like of air and simultaneously eliminates dust and the like contained in air, to be suitable for human activity using a refrigeration cycle. A compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a blowing fan, and the like are provided as main components of the refrigeration cycle.
The air conditioner is classified into a separate type air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are separated and installed, and an integral type air conditioner in which the indoor unit and the outdoor unit are installed together.
The indoor unit of the separate type air conditioner includes a heat exchanger which exchanges heat with air introduced into a panel, and a blowing fan which introduces air of a room into the panel and blows the introduced air into the room again.
In general, the indoor unit of the separate type air conditioner is provided, at a lower portion thereof, with the blowing fan, and is provided, at an upper portion thereof, with the heat exchanger and an air outlet port to discharge air. Air which is introduced and blown by the blowing fan is moved to the upper portion of the indoor unit, and the air moved to the upper portion is discharged into the room via the heat exchanger and the air discharge port.
However, in the indoor unit of the air conditioner having such a structure, since the blowing fan and the heat exchanger are respectively arranged at the upper and lower portions of the indoor unit, the indoor unit has inefficient space utilization.
In addition, since the air passing through the blowing fan moves to the upper portion of the indoor unit and is then discharged into the indoor unit again, a passage from the lower portion to the upper portion of the indoor unit becomes long and the blowing fan has a large load to blow the introduced air. Thus, the indoor unit has inefficient utilization of energy and a limit to increase the volume and speed of air. In this case, when the heat exchanger and the blowing fan are arranged to be close to each other in order to achieve a compact and slim air conditioner, the blowing fan has deteriorated performance and increased noise due to an increase in air resistance of the heat exchanger.
Furthermore, in the indoor unit of the air conditioner, the air outlet or inlet port is generally opened and closed by moving horizontal or vertical blades, thereby regulating a discharge amount of air. However, such a structure has a problem in that the separate blades are controlled by a separate power source to thus have the increased number of components and a complicated structure. Moreover, since the outlet or inlet port is formed in a quadrangular shape when using the horizontal or vertical blades, products having a unified design are produced.